Labourer Lincoln Odel was yesterday remanded to prison after being charged with the murder of 88-year-old Springlands resident Fitzherbert Grimes, whom he allegedly beat to death after the man refused to hand over his pension.
Odel, 29, also known as ‘Shadow,’ appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court, where it was alleged that on June 2, at Springlands, he murdered Grimes during the course or furtherance of a robbery.
Police Prosecutor Orin Joseph requested a psychiatric evaluation for Odel based on the fact that investigators said he was acting “off” during an interrogation.
However, Magistrate Singh said he did not believe anything was wrong with Odel and that he was only acting. Singh asked Odel if anything was wrong with him and he only said he would “drink and smoke.” Singh then noted that he had sentenced Odel numerous times in the past. However, Odel corrected the magistrate and claimed that Singh had only sentenced him once in the past. The magistrate did not see the point of ordering a psychiatric evaluation and as a result none was ordered.
Singh was remanded to prison until June 19, when the matter is to be called for reports.
Stabroek News was told that the accused, who was a frequent visitor to Grimes’ home, visited the senior citizen on Friday. Moments after he entered Grimes’ house, the pensioner was heard screaming for help.
According to Dexter Parks, who had been caring for Grimes for one year, on Friday he left his son, the pensioner and the accused at Grimes’ home and went to a nearby shop to purchase a beverage. “When I meet home, I see the man [Grimes] lay down pon the ground and he [the accused] say, ‘Watch wah happen here.’ I ask he [the accused] wah he do the man and he say is na he, that is he brother do it. But then neighbours come out and say is he kill the man,” Parks said.
According to Parks, the accused had ordered Grimes to hand over his pension to him. When Grimes refused, the suspect started to beat him. “Is he kill the man. That is wah the neighbours telling me; that is he choke the man and stamp the man and kill the man,” Parks said. “He choke the man for he pension money.”
